The Hammers have been looking to find a feeder club, where they can send young players out on loan - just like Chelsea have done with Vitesse Arnhem in recent years.

The deal means that West Ham can send players out to VVV-Venlo, and Slaven Bilic's men will be able to snap up some of the Dutch club's top young talent.

Speaking to the West Ham official website, academy manager Terry Westley says that VVV-Venlo are the perfect club for what the Hammers have been looking for, with defender Sam Westley already making the move to join VVV-Venlo on loan as part of the agreement.

"It's something we have looked at for 12 months. We have been to Slovakia, France and Holland," said Westley. "We have met with different Clubs and we chose Venlo in the end after doing our homework and looking at the environment and what the staff are like.

"We managed to get the link after I went over to Holland and met the Club's director to form a football partnership. We feel the high technical game which they play could suit our players," he added.

VVV-Venlo may be a relatively small Dutch club, but they have produced their fair share of top talent in recent years too - something which should excite West Ham fans.

Olly Dawes

Olly is a Sports Management graduate and aspiring journalist, with most of his work surrounding football or NFL. He has formed two of his own sites, as well as contributing to a number of others before starting with Here Is The City.